Finding Who You Are
by Arianwen P.F. Everett
Summary: 18 years after her birth and her mother's banishment from Storybooke, Danielle Cecilia Mills returns to learn her magic and live while attending a college just a few miles outside of town. Unfortunately, the Queen of Hearts, Danielle's grandmother, has other plans that don't involve her. Sequel to 'What Was Lost'.
1. Chapter 1

Finding Who You Are: Part 1

By Arianwen P.F. Everett

Danielle Cecilia Mills had often heard that going away to college was supposed to teach you exactly who you were, and for her that was the whole point. She didn't really know who she was yet, which was why she was returning to Storybrooke, Maine, the place of her birth. While most of her friends had chosen colleges based on their family legacies or their individual goals, Danielle had decided on Bates because of its relative distance to Storybrooke. She could live in the small town and commute back and forth in just under an hour's time each way. Hopefully by graduation, she'd have a better idea of what she wanted to do and what kind of life she should try to build, but for the here and now, she merely wanted to complete her bachelor's degree and practice the magic her mother had taught her about, although not necessarily in that order.

She'd always longed to have her own magic, and two years ago Danielle had gotten her first taste of it. Because of the limit in demand a cursed town was subject to, real estate was relatively cheap. Henry had just bought his first home and invited her to claim his guest bedroom during mid-winter break so he would have an audience while he strutted around as lord of the manor. For her part, Danielle had been excited to see Henry's place, but she was even more eager to test her wings outside the range of mom's watchful eye. Just crossing into Storybrooke had felt amazing. Her skin had tingled and her senses were heightened beyond anything she'd ever known. It had been like being perpetually high for two weeks straight and the day she'd returned home was the day she decided to go to Bates College irregardless of what other schools she was accepted to.

For her mother's sake, Danielle had applied to each one of the Ivies, but then made sure her essays were sub par. As a result, she'd only gotten into Bates and three other equally secondary schools. She'd thought that she'd planned it all brilliantly, schooling her features to appear glum with each thin, embossed envelope that arrived, but her mother had seen her moves a mile away.

To her credit, Regina had accepted Danielle's choice, mostly because she didn't want to push her daughter into a miserable, but privileged life the way she'd been pushed. Bates was a decent school and it left Danielle only three hours from her, which meant that while Regina couldn't come visit her daughter because of the spells placed on the town border when she was officially banished, Danielle would easily be able to return home if things didn't work out in Storybrooke. That security was all that mattered, and she understood Danielle's reasoning in her choices.

Magic had allowed Regina to take her wealth and power with her when the dark curse was enacted, and to keep her high standard of living even after her banishment. Learning her magic could similarly give Danielle a means to wealth within Storybrooke. After all, gold spun from straw was still gold and could still be sold all over the world. Before she'd left, Regina had stored the family's magical possessions in her secret chamber under the Mills mausoleum. Amongst the items was the spinning wheel Rumplestiltskin had given her mother when she was merely a poor miller's daughter. But Regina had resolved that Danielle would be the one to figure out what to do with her magic on her own. She had merely given her daughter some ideas and books to learn from. The rest was up to her.

As Danielle drove past the 'Welcome to Storybrooke' sign, that wonderful feeling of power returned and she felt up to the challenge. That was until all four of her tires blew out and she barely stopped her car from sliding into the tree collapsed in the middle of the road.

Remembering her stepsister's first meeting with her Prince Charming, Danielle knew that the tree was no accident. Yet, staying in a car with dead tires offered her no protection either. Reaching into her glove compartment, Danielle pulled the handgun her mother had given her for protection and made her train with as one of the two conditions of her moving to Storybrooke.

Carefully easing her door open, watching the woods around her as it opened, she stepped out of the car, only to find herself surrounded by what looked like jacks, only sharper, as if they'd been made specifically to pierce tires. Just like the book, this was a trap, but unlike Snow White, who'd only intended to steal from her mother's treasury, whoever set this trap meant business. Removing the safety, Danielle scanned woods around her.

Suddenly, she heard the beating of horses' hooves, and she crouched into a defensive position behind her car door, ready to fire. Suddenly, from both sides of the road, an army of men in red and black attacked her and Danielle was more afraid than she'd ever been in her entire life. These weren't just mere fairytale soldiers; these were the soldiers of the Queen of Hearts, her grandmother, the woman who had killed her father.

As her brain did the math Danielle's fear grew. Aces through Nines, four suits meant 36 thugs, 18 coming at her from either side of the road and that was assuming her grandmother had only stationed a single deck. Making up her mind, she decided to start plugging as many as she could in hopes they'd vengefully kill her instead of capturing her and taking her to Grandmother Cora. If she used her magic to save herself, Cora would see her as either a threat or an untapped asset to be used against mother. Either way, she'd be hunted. From what little she'd gathered of her mother's girlhood, Danielle understood that death would be less miserable than life as the Queen of Hearts granddaughter. After emptying her clip into the first few soldiers rushing towards her, she dashed inside her car, locked the door, and waited for the end… which never came.

Bullets began to fly, but not from her gun. Sliding onto the floor of her car, Danielle waited till the gunfire stopped and instead of hearing pounding on her car's chassis as the soldiers tried to rip her out, she eventually heard an urgent, but respectful knocking, followed by her name being called several time. She knew that voice. It was Henry's voice. Looking up, she saw her brother outside, and she flung open her door and jumped into his arms, relieved beyond words to have been rescued. "My hero!"

"Come on, we've got to get out of here!" another familiar voice stated firmly before whistling for two horses. It was only then that Danielle noticed Snow White was with Henry. She looked terrible, at least ten years older than the last time Danielle had seen her a mere two years ago. She looked so beaten down and considering who had attacked her, an idea was beginning to form in her mind. Seeing similar strain on her brother's features, a sick feeling settled into the pit of her stomach.

"You've all been driven from Storybrooke by the Queen of Hearts, haven't you?" Danielle surmised sadly.

Snow and Henry exchanged astonished looks before Henry took his sister's hands in his own. "Yes. We didn't…"

"We don't have time to talk. We have to get away before the Queen's soldiers send a search party. Come on!" Snow ordered, mounting her horse.

"Snow's right. We can talk later. We need to go," Danielle insisted, ushering Henry onto the second horse, before naturally settling into the saddle behind him. If there was one thing she knew how to do, growing up on her mother's ranch, it was ride. Nothing gave her mother more pleasure than seeing her children master an obstacle course and nothing gave Danielle more pleasure than to see her mother happy. Henry was good, but she was better.

As they took off towards their forest encampment, Danielle realized several things. Firstly, that all her prior plans meant nothing. After the last half hour of her life, Danielle came to the realization that remaining in Storybrooke not longer appealed to her. She only wanted to grab Henry and get the heck out of town, but she also knew that her grandmother was very smart and had likely cast spells to prevent anyone from leaving once they entered. That's what she would do and she only understood magic in the theoretical. Allowing free movement between realms would not only deny Cora the terrorized population her sadistic heart craved, but could also result in mother's return if the fairies were willing to drop the banishment spells. Grandma Cora saw mother as a threat; she had to keep her out of Storybrooke at all costs, and now that both of her children were on the inside, the evil old woman had to have a plan to prevent that. Danielle shivered at the implications, burying her forehead against Henry's back to block out this dreadful world if just for a moment.


	2. Chapter 2

Finding Who You Are: Part 2

By Arianwen P.F. Everett

Danielle spent her first night as part of the Storybrooke refuge camp in the tent of her fairy godmother, Nova. According to Nova, the Queen of Hearts had wrested control of the Dark Curses' remains and bent it to her own will. Being the most powerful curse ever conceived, it had taken nearly two decades for Cora to command it once Regina had left town, but now Cora was able to completely suppress all other magic in Storybrooke outside of her own, with one newly discovered exception.

As everyone in the rebel encampment had swiftly learned last night when Danielle lit the evening cooking fire with a fireball, Cora's spell hadn't stripped the girl of her power. While Rumplestiltskin immediately understood what was going on, the other magic users from Storybrooke eventually realized that because Danielle and the Queen of Hearts received their magic from the same font, their mutual bloodline, the curse's power couldn't be used against the girl. This fact made Henry's sister either a weapon against their enemy or an equally dangerous threat, and while Henry, Snow, and James, along with the frail, but strong-hearted Granny, had insisted on Danielle's innocence and precarious position now that she was trapped inside Storybrooke's borders, the newcomer could see that a handful of townspeople weren't convinced of her goodness.

That's why she'd taken Nova's offer. Having remained cloistered as nuns, the fairies still commanded a significant amount of moral authority and nobody would attack one of their tents in the dead of night. Still, Storybrooke's rebels were desperate and that didn't even take into account the people who continued to hold a grudge against her mother for enacting the dark curse in the first place, so Danielle had decided to stick close to Nova for a few days.

However, despite a deep, dreamless night's sleep, Danielle had awoken the next morning feeling restless, so she dressed quietly and slipped out of camp to forage, only to find an irate mob when she'd returned. Snow had howled about her running off and several townspeople, including Cinderella, had accused her of being a spy for the Queen of Hearts, despite her protests that she'd gone to collect food and kindling for her new neighbors to cook with.

Danielle had been a Girl Scout since she was five, climbing the ladder from Daisy to Ambassador. Growing up in rural Maine had given her troupe plenty of opportunities to hike and learn about the woods around them, and her mother had hand stitched each survival badge to her sash as they were earned. The end result was that Danielle had grown into an expert forager. She'd even managed to find some root vegetables her scout leader had once told her could be eaten like turnips if boiled well, and having found so many, Danielle had deduced that the citizens of Storybrooke didn't know about their nutritious properties and had passed them over in favor of the nuts, berries, and mushrooms which were nearly picked clean. Grant it, she hated turnips but it wasn't like any of them could go to the supermarket now.

While Danielle refused to be the whipping girl many in Storybrooke intended her to be because of her mother's curse and her grandmother's blood, she did want to make friends and allies with those who could accept her without expecting some sort of remorse or penance. She also needed to pull her own weight and force everyone here to see how valuable she was to their cause, lest some of the townspeople get it in their heads to turn her over to the Queen of Hearts in hopes of winning her favor and their freedom. Danielle hated her grandmother more than she ever thought it possible to hate another living being, and she determined that she would vanquish the sadistic old bat once and for all, not for the town that would just as happily see her head detached from her body for the family she'd been born into, but for herself and the life she wanted to build.

While she still had no idea what career she'd pursue or even what major she'd choose, today Danielle was far more confident in her plan to attend Bates and live in Storybrooke. Yesterday's weak desire to run away from the conflict with Henry in tow was gone, and she had to assume she'd merely been in shock after nearly being killed in a gun fight with her grandmother's goons. Now that she was thinking more clearly, Danielle knew her earlier plans were what she still wanted and that future was what she had to fight for.

As they began boiling the wild turnips, Granny informed her that the Enchanted Forest didn't have this particular vegetable, but that she was pleased to know they had such a skilled survivalist with them now, and Danielle felt a bittersweet stirring in her heart at the elderly woman's praise. Granny was everything a grandmother should be, but no matter how much the young woman would wish it, that didn't make Granny hers. No, Danielle's grandmother was the cause of this woman's current predicament and a source of pain for everyone in Storybrooke.

But beyond her cruelty, Cora Mills was quite powerful and even worse, skilled in using the magic she possessed. Danielle knew that was the key to her grandmother's power, her skill, the knowledge of a lifetime of dark magic, and if her granddaughter were to have any hope of survival and making things right for Granny and Henry, she needed a teacher. So, after a blandly disgusting breakfast of mashed wild turnips, Danielle could no longer put off a visit to the man she knew as the only teacher capable of turning her into a witch the Queen of Hearts would fear.

"Ah Dearie, how nice of you to come visit Belle and I this morning. Please, please, have a seat. To what do we owe this pleasure... Danielle, is it?" Rumplestiltskin greeted, as he covered a tree stump with a throw pillow to make it more comfortable and sat beside his love on a stone bench which appeared to have been plucked from a garden and brought to this large tent.

"You know it is, Mr. Rumplestiltskin," Danielle answered, knowing the imp believed himself to be in the better position.

"Yes, well, names are a specialty of mine. Yours was pretty much a foregone conclusion, considering your hard won origins," Rumplestiltskin informed, patiently allowing the girl to absorb and process each word. She was indeed quite young and unused to power, or more precisely, the games of the powerful. However, he'd dealt with her family long enough to know that the Mills took to power like the proverbial fish to water. She didn't need to learn a thing, only unlearn the rules of this world in favor of her true nature. Once this child allowed herself to do that, to let go of 'reality' as they called it here, the troublesome Queen of Hearts would be ash underfoot in no time.

"I'm proud to have been named after my father and my Grandpa Henry's mother," Danielle replied defensively. She'd expected insults regarding her mother. Considering what Regina Mills had done to him in her day, Rumplestiltskin had a legitimate right to hate her, but Danielle would be damned if her gentle father and her mother's beloved Nana Cecilia, both of whom had been lost to Cora's vile ambition, had their names dragged through the mud by such a loathsome man-thing.

"I meant no offense, Dearie. Danielle Cecilia Mills is as fine a name as any," Rumplestiltskin soothed, not wanting to upset he girl, lest her temperament prove as volatile as her forbearers. That had always been the more difficult part of his dealings with them. The truth was he and this brat needed each other, and while they both found the arrangement distasteful, they both knew it was unavoidable. Without his instruction, the girl had no hope of fighting her grandmother and surviving, and without her, he had no hope of reclaiming his power, protecting Belle, or ever seeing his son again.

"I'm not your 'Dearie'. You may call me MS. Mills, nothing more, nothing less," Danielle shot back. Her mother was on the board of several feminist nonprofit organizations and Danielle had been raised to know when a man was talking down to her. She had no idea how the lovely redhead in her mid forties could stand to sit so closely him, nor how her kind high school Language Arts teacher could admit to being his son, much less want to see his father again. But that was another deal to be made, once Cora was dealt with.

Unable to prevent the flaring of his nostrils in annoyance, Rumplestiltskin otherwise plastered on a smile for the obstinate child. "As you wish, Ms. Mills."

Authoress' Note: Sorry it's been so long but I was having trouble getting a feel for Danielle's voice. I wanted her to be sweet and feisty, but mostly undamaged. The next part should be out in a week or two, time permitting.


	3. Chapter 3

Finding Who You Are: Part 3

By Arianwen P.F. Everett

The Blue Fairy awoke with a jolt, as she did most mornings now. In the dungeon of the Queen of Hearts, torture could come at any moment with no warning, so one did not sleep easy or wake languidly, ever. As she moved to sit up, she fell backwards again. The Queen had removed her left thumb several days ago, and while the pain of the digit's loss was subsiding the imbalance it caused when trying to use her hands wasn't.

Feeling a pair of cool fingers grasp her forearms, the Blue Fairy jerked, only to ease when she realized it was Emma Swan attempting to assist her into a sitting position and offer what little comfort she could. Of all those that the Queen of Hearts had targeted for kidnapping and arrest the day before she began her assault on Storybrooke's citizens two months ago, Emma was holding up better than the rest. She'd lived in foster homes that were little better than the Queen of Heart's dungeon and the experience had taught her the necessity of relying on your fellow captives.

"Hey, hey, it's me. Let me see your hand?" Emma insisted, taking the Fairies left hand into her own to inspect the healing stub.

"Don't worry. It can't get infected. Even without magic and trapped in human form, I'm still invulnerable to disease, gangrene included. The Queen of Hearts knows this. My disfigurement was meant to send a message to other magic users who might end up with us in the future," the Blue Fairy explained as she studied her own four fingered hand and scowled.

"Let's hope that future never arrives. Remember, one day at a time. That's how we get through this, one day at a time," Emma explained, reminding herself as well. She wouldn't allow herself to worry about Henry or her parents or anyone else she cared for ending up here. She really couldn't afford that, none of them could. Everything had to be about the next moment, no farther out.

What the next moment brought was the sounds of footsteps, several quick and agile, one pair slower and more deliberate. It was this pair that made everyone in the four cells within the room jump to their feet. These were the footfalls of the Queen of Hearts. The croaking voice of the Queen barked the second she stopped before her caged prisoners. "Who is the girl?!"

Nearly everyone in the cells looked down submissively, all except Emma. While she would not challenge the Queen of Hearts capriciously, as a girl she'd learned to stand her ground with sadists. If you behaved meekly, that only wet their appetite, but if you presented arrogance, they took your attitude as a challenge, forcing them to break you in order to save face. The middle ground was the safest path, but also the most narrow. "Can you be more specific, your Majesty?"

"The girl that broke through the town's barrier yesterday afternoon! The girl who shot nine of my men before your mother and son took out the rest! The girl who's tapping into my magic!" the final accusation being spat out in barely controlled fury betraying the crone's true concern. The 95 year old woman seemed to growl inhumanly at Emma as she stepped away from the bars of the cell before turning towards another.

Seeing the Queen of Hearts moving toward her, Red tried to shrink back into the shadows, but the chain around her neck limited her retreat. When she reached the cage, Cora pulled the fuchsia scarf her recon team had found in the bullet ridden SUV. "Smell this, wolf! Tell me who this miscreant is!"

Red looked down at the fabric being shoved under her nose and cautiously inhaled. She didn't want to inform on some poor girl who had riled this Queen whose cruelty exceeded even the Evil Queen that had trapped them in this realm nearly half a century ago. But tomorrow was the full moon and if she refused, the Queen of Hearts would remove her chain and lock someone in her cell. Red couldn't live with that again, so she broke.

Forcing aside the self loathing, Red let go of everything around her and breathed in deeply. Suddenly an image appeared to her, the Evil Queen… not as she'd been in the Enchanted Forest but in the guise of Storybrooke's mayor. Abject confusion hit Red as she was positive that this wasn't Regina's smell, though it was similar. It was then that a Red shifted the focus of this memory and looked towards the sling at Regina's chest. Seeing the sweet baby girl, Red cooed at the infant and waved from across the counter, as Granny rang up Regina's coffee and road snacks.

Suddenly a sharp slap to her right cheek stunned Red out of the memory and she was face to face with the Queen of Hearts again. Her stomach filled with bricks at her impending betrayal of Henry's little sister, but she figured Henry would rather his sister be betrayed than his mother torn apart, the wolf having ended the Sheriff's life the way it had once ended Peter's. Taking a deep breath, Red mumbled shamefully. "The Evil Queen's girl, that's her scarf, her scent."

Hearing this admission, a half-insane cackle bubbled up from the witch, and Red felt even sicker than she had a moment before. It was all she could do to keep down the apple and cold cheese sandwich the guards had given them all for breakfast.

"So, I'm a grandmother now, a real grandmother! How marvelous!" the Queen of Hearts gushed, making sure to look directly at Emma as she used the word 'real' to remind her of Regina's claim upon her son and the fact that she held no such affection for the young man who bore her deceased husband's name. However, the girl intrigued Cora very much, and she couldn't completely quash the hope this news brought with it. Her magic had helped her slow down the aging process, and her father's family had always been extremely long lived; but for all that, the Queen of Hearts was still human, mortal, and feeling her years a little bit more each day.

Regina had been such a disappointment. Throughout her childhood, her daughter's willfulness had secretly pleased Cora, but then she'd given her heart to that worthless stable boy and upon his death, her spirit had evaporated. No amount of dark magic, not even casting the dark curse itself, could make her a worthy successor to Cora's name and throne with such a broken soul. Perhaps this child could. If Cora could merely bend the girl to her will without destroying her essence, all the realms the Queen of Hearts now commanded would have a worthy heir. The more the elderly woman considered the situation, the more she believed this turn of events to be an auspicious opportunity, and for the first time in decades, her smile was genuine if terrifying.

"Lady, whatever you're planning, I would seriously think twice about it! Several years ago, Rumplestiltskin explained to me how magic gets stronger generationally in families like your own. You're two generations behind Danielle, and according to what I've since been told, Regina permanently booted you're a** out of the Enchanted Forest and into Wonderland! You couldn't even enter this realm until she'd been gone for eighteen years! What hope do you have against her kid?!" Emma reasoned, her worry for the girl Henry loved as a sister fueling her words. Unfortunately, her maternal instincts had swept her off the middle road like a stiff wind and the Queen of Hearts slammed her into the bars of the cell. The fuzzy image of the worried Blue Fairy was the last thing she saw before the world went black.

"How I deal with MY grandchild is my concern, Harlot!" Cora replied, letting her gloved hand fall to her side. As much as she hated to admit it, the blonde had a point. Regina had inevitably poisoned her child, this Danielle, against her. The name itself spoke volumes, attesting to her daughter's continued obsession with the dead stable hand she'd tried to run away with in her youth.

Turning her predatory gaze on Reul Ghorm, she slipped as close as she could get to the creature without entering the cell. She needed answers and this ancient one would give them too her or she would make everyone in this town suffer for her refusal. "Who sired my daughter's girl-child, the one the blonde referred to as 'Danielle'?"

"I don't know his name, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!" the fairy spat back, only knowing what little Emma had told her years ago when she'd come for help on her case involving the missing sperm donor files and what she'd been able to discover through her own devices. The name of the stable boy who Regina had loved was still a mystery to the Blue Fairy, so technically, she was telling the truth.

Seeing a ball of light begin to form in the Queen of Heart's hand, Emma climbed to her feet, holding onto the bars to keep her balance through her dizziness. "Don't. Wait. Hold your fire! I can tell you his name. My mother said he died when she was a child and that you ripped his heart out in front of your own daughter, but his name was Daniel. Danielle was named after her father, Daniel."

"Liar! Nothing, not even the strongest magic, can bring back the dead!" the Queen of hearts rebutted, snorting with disgust at how dimwitted this woman must think she was if she thought she would buy that story. Cora had ended that miserable commoner's life to prevent him from spawning worthless peasants on her misguided daughter. She had crushed his heart in her own hand.

"You're right; magic can't bring the dead back, but in this world it can allow the living to make babies with them," Emma smugly retorted, forgoing any semblance of humility. The Queen of Hearts already knew she was a smart a**, so playing reasonable was no longer an option and not a role Emma had ever been comfortable with.

A fury like none she'd experienced in years rose inside Cora and she howled in frustration. Without another word, she stormed out of the dungeon, her men timidly following. Emma pitied them.

"Princess, are you sure it was wise to reveal young Danielle's origins?" the Blue Fairy asked, her breathing to returning to a normal pace. This human form was still far more prone to fear than she was used to and its heart sped and slowed in a manner that the fairy found bizarre.

Emma wearily looked at the brunette as she sat down beside her. "It was the only choice possible. That witch had plans for the kid. I'd hate to think what they were, but I could tell, she was planning something. For Danielle's sake, let's hope she no longer meets the Queen B*tch's criteria."


	4. Chapter 4

Finding Who You Are: Part 4

By Arianwen P.F. Everett

"No, I refuse! The thing never did anything to me," Danielle stated, digging her heels in.

"Dearie… Ms. Mills, if you don't pluck the newts' eyes out, you can't use them for the spell. It's a part of the price of the magic," Rumplestiltskin explained for the third time. The girl had taken amazingly well to most of his training this past week, but now that they were on the darker side of things, he was meeting resistance. Today that resistance had turned to complete defiance.

"Firstly, this creature gets nothing out of the magic, so it shouldn't have to pay the price, and secondly, you can go to hell, cause I'm not blinding it!" Danielle reiterated before moving to the lake's edge and placing the small animal on a rock. As the creature began scurrying away, Danielle's smile turned to an enraged scowl as a knife shot out, chopping the little amphibian in two, killing it instantly.

"Now it's dead, so pick up the head and remove its eyes before they loose their freshness!" Rumplestiltskin ordered in a clipped tone that meant business.

"You killed it. You mutilate the corpse if you're that much of a psychopath! I didn't come to Storybrooke to dismember animals!" Danielle shot back, stomping towards the camp, leaving the ancient imp fuming.

"Do you think your grandmother cares why you're here? To her, you're a threat and she will gladly bring about as much death as is necessary to eliminate that threat. Your only hope for survival, this town's only hope for survival, is for you to fully embrace your magic and make no mistake, Dearie, your magic is dark," Rumplestiltskin hissed menacingly, causing Danielle to freeze with fright. Danielle shrieked as he grabbed her shoulders painfully. Before he could say another word, a blue-gloved fist connect with his nose.

"Get your hands off of her!" Nova spat out as Rumplestiltskin climbed to his feet and Danielle moved to stand beside her.

"That was wrong of me. I shouldn't have done that, but you screamed and I saw him grab you, and…" Nova stammered as way of apology to both her charge and Rumplestiltskin.

"It's alright, Nova. He brought it on himself. God, I can't believe I let my guard down around him! I thought if he could love his son so much that he would pay the price he paid to save him, he couldn't be as evil as Mother and Henry and the rest made him out to be. I guess I've learned my lesson. Schools out," Danielle said, clipping her last sentence to let the lame creature know she was done taking magic lessons from him.

Putting a grateful arm around her Fairy Godmother, the two turned and strode back towards camp, leaving the fuming imp in the dirt. Unfortunately, the stand off they walked straight into was unimaginably worse.

"Ah, there she is, my beautiful granddaughter!" Cora cooed, holding her boney arms out for a hug, as if the fact that the head of her personal guard had Snow White in a headlock with his gun pressed against her temple wasn't happening a mere three feet away.

"You lost the right to call me that when you ripped my defenseless father's heart out. Now tell your goon to drop Snow and get your ancient carcass out of my realm!" Danielle responded coldly as she gently pushed Nova away from her and an energy ball formed in the palm of her hand.

"You've been practicing your magic! You've barely been here a week and you're already practicing. You have no idea how proud of you I am right now!" Cora beamed, completely unperturbed by Danielle's threat. Despite Emma Swan's warning, Cora had forgotten ten times the magic her granddaughter could have possibly picked up in such a brief span of time. The girl was angry, but posed no real danger.

"And you have no idea how little I give a damn. Listen, I don't actually care what happens to Snow. Do whatever you like with her; just leave Storybrooke once you're finished. I'm pretty sure somebody will clean up the mess," Danielle quipped, watching Cora's eyes for any response.

Having attended an elite boarding school, albeit as a day student, Danielle had learned the art of negotiation amongst the sons and daughters of the rich and powerful. The first step when dealing with a hostile or overly confident adversary was to make a bold, but inoffensive, opening statement, and then slowly begin to mirror your opponent's movements, vocal characteristics, and temperament until they relaxed enough to view you as a person worthy of their time. Only then could you bring your issues to the table without immediate rebuff or posturing. Her grandmother would have heard diplomatic phrasing as groveling, so Danielle had opened with insults and rejection. Now she was mirroring Cora's callous disregard for life while carefully proposing her grandmother's abandonment of this realm. She didn't expect the evil witch to concede right away, but if Danielle was lucky, the old woman would divulge more information about why she'd left Wonderland and what she wanted with Storybrooke.

"Dani, what are you doing?!" Henry gasped in horror, only to suddenly find himself unable to speak. Panicked, he looked back and forth between Cora and Danielle not knowing which woman had stolen his voice.

"A good start, my dear. That family always did talk too much. But taking his ability to argue, doesn't stop him from moving against you," Cora instructed while sending a rock at her granddaughter's head.

The sudden pain and loss of balance left Danielle in the dirt. When she tried to stand, her head spun, leaving her barely able to push away the grass that tried to invade her mouth and nostrils. Suddenly a hand grabbed her by the jaw and wrenched her splitting head upwards. "Do you take me for a fool, girl?! You reek of innocence and weakness! My traitorous daughter obviously taught you nothing of value; probably permitted you to run wild like my worthless husband did her! Ah well, at least you tried to deceive me. I guess that's a start. However, you're no where near the point where you'd cheerfully sacrifice another's life for your own gain. But fear not; with my help, you'll get there."

Signaling to one of her guards, Cora watched as the man lifted her half conscious grandchild into his arms, only to be vomited upon. She'd have to inspect the bump when they returned to the mansion Regina had once occupied while still mayor of this village; a brain damaged heir was worthless to Cora. However, that examination would have to wait. For now she had what she came for and used her magic to fling Snow White straight into her mute grandson, before disappearing with her men in a cloud of black smoke.

Once the danger had passed, Snow and Charming embraced before helping Henry to his feet. He tried to talk, only to find he still couldn't.

"Oh, Henry," Snow sighed, stroking the young man's arm in sympathy.

"Don't worry. We'll get your voice back," Charming promised, joining his wife at their grandson's side.

"I hate to break it to you, Dearies, but only young Ms. Mills can return Henry's voice, as she's the one who took it," Rumplestiltskin informed, looking over the family he had watched develop for decades.

"The imp's right. We have to get Danielle back!" Granny joined in, worried about the young woman she'd delivered and whom she'd grown fond of these past few days.

"Emma, Red, and the Blue Fairy are more important. We can't split our focus," Snow abruptly insisted, days of constant worry for her daughter and anger at Danielle's attack on Henry fueling her lack of concern.

Suddenly Snow felt a hand roughly grasp her forearm and she looked down into the eyes of a stern Granny. "You know I adore Emma, but that woman has a mouth on her, one she passed onto her boy. Now I don't blame you. She obviously got it out in this world, but whatever the reason, Henry has it and he was seconds away from getting himself killed with it. If Danielle hadn't silenced him and drew that witch's attention away from the two of you, we'd all be digging your graves by now."

"Danielle sacrificed herself to keep Henry safe. She doesn't deserve your derision," Nova added, needing to defend her charge.

"Look, I hear what you're both saying, but I haven't a clue as to how we go about saving her! We can't even enter the town for God's sake!" Snow shouted, madness threatening her frayed nerves.

"Outside of myself, there's only one person who's ever taken on Cora with any real success. As much as I hate the idea of her returning, you have to admit, her girl's abduction, not to mention Henry's current condition, would certainly motivate her," Rumplestiltskin theorized, knowing just how hard this idea would be for Snow White to process at the moment, but having no other choice. The child knew about his son. She had said as much earlier. He had to get her back and interrogate her.

"No. No way! She's been banished! She's staying banished!" Snow fought, holding onto her last shred of self control and command. Until Cora's take over, she'd been happy. For eighteen years, she and Charming had had the life they'd always dreamed of. She didn't want to risk Regina ruining her happy ending once again.

Charming shut his eyes as he fought the conflicting emotions inside himself. His wife was at the end of her rope, but his daughter was still a prisoner and he had no idea how long the Queen of Hearts would see fit to keep her alive. He had to make Snow see reason, the way he'd forced her to hold onto hope when they'd first learned of the dark curse and what it would do to their family. "Snow, she may be Emma's only hope."

"Even if I wanted to bring her back, the Blue Fairy cast a spell to prevent her from returning, and considering she's powerless and locked up in Cora's dungeon, how are we even supposed to get Regina here?" Snow questioned, not wanting to admit that her daughter's fate might rest in her evil stepmother's hands.

A tap on her arm directed Snow's attention towards Henry, who was holding out Danielle's cell phone and a piece of paper where he'd scrawled 'Ask Mom'. Sighing, Snow looked into her husband's eyes once more for strength and took the phone.


	5. Chapter 5

Finding Who You Are: Part 5

By Arianwen P.F. Everett

When Danielle awoke, she found herself in a familiar bedroom, not her own but the one Emma Swan and her brother, Henry, had once told her she'd been born in. Looking over the edge of the bed, she saw the faint outline of the stain where her mother had gone into labor.

The thought of her mother cleared the fog that had overtaken Danielle's thoughts and brought her back to the present. A lump of fear formed in her throat at the prospect of never seeing her again and she bitterly cursed her stepsister for convincing her not to let mom know what was happening in Storybrooke when she called to confirm that she'd arrived safely. She'd been cleaning her gun during that entire conversation as she'd readied herself to do battle with her grandmother's forces. She could still feel the steel in her hands as she cleaned each part methodically, while her mother updated her on the foal her favorite mare, Delilah, had born a week before. Her mother was certain he'd be a jumper, maybe even a champion, but right now all Danielle could think about was whether or not she'd be alive when that day came.

Danielle could feel her grandmother's dark power reaching into every corner of Storybrooke and she knew that as the child of a lowly stable boy who had dared to win her mother's love, she was effectively a sinner in the hands of an angry goddess. That idea, coupled with the swinging open of the bedroom door made the girl nearly jump out of her skin.

Instead of her grandmother or the Queen of Heart's soldiers, Danielle was greeted by a young woman, maybe five or six years older than herself who stopped to bow slightly before speaking. "Princess, my name's Madeline. I'm your grandmother's second assistant. She had some business to attend to this morning and asked me to prepare your breakfast. Do you have any requests?"

"Ah, some yogurt and a banana, I guess. Oh, and some coffee, black," Danielle fumbled, only now noticing the time of day and the unmistakable feeling of an empty stomach. Who knew how long she was out? Henry was probably worried sick. Suddenly a thought struck her; she'd never restored her brother's voice. Mom was going to kill her if her grandmother didn't.

Closing her eyes, Madeline held her palms out, face up, and a brief puff of purple smoke gave way to a silver tray with a teacup, a spoon, a yogurt cup, a banana, and a small carafe of piping hot coffee. After carefully placing the tray on the edge of the bed, Madeline turned back to Danielle. "Can I get you anything else, Your Grace?"

Danielle thought about the question and tried to deduce how each potential reply would be perceived. No doubt her grandmother had the place bugged and would study a recording of this meeting later. The woman was paranoid, but then her own daughter had banished her to an in-between realm after all her hard work had given said daughter a kingdom to rule over as Queen and magic to keep that kingdom. From Cora's self-centered perspective, everyone really was out to get her so the first thing about this world that she'd likely have gravitated to was surveillance. To survive, Danielle knew she had to make herself into the perfect granddaughter. She had to appear a modest young lady with an eye towards rank and station. Otherwise, she might as well be a common stable hand's brat, and Cora would remorselessly destroy her for it. "Is it possible to have a tea table and a chair or two brought into my room; I can't very well eat off the bedspread, can I?"

"The Queen anticipated this request and so she has graciously permitted you a limited amount of magic for the purpose. You may have your table and chairs if you can conjure them," Madeline explained, a small but genuine smile lighting her carefully schooled features. The Queen of Hearts had designed this encounter as a test. The first half, the girl's dietary choices were too simple and showed concern for the servants who would be preparing the meal. However, in regards to the more important issue of social grace, Danielle was passing with flying colors. Her Queen would likely let her grandchild live for now and that pleased Madeline who had no taste for bloodshed, despite being regularly exposed to it in her place at court.

Danielle gasped as her power, which had been absent since the moment she'd woken, began to percolate inside of her once more. It was limited and restrained by an outside force, but it was there none-the-less. Closing her eyes, Danielle thought of the tea table at home in the conservatory and stretched her hands out as if she could touch the object across the nearly two hundred miles separating her from it. Then she let the purple smoke flow from her fingertips and the table, chairs, and place settings appeared before her. Danielle's first thought was to rush over to the bed and grab the tray, but she knew that would appear too common. So despite her growling stomach, she sat herself down, placed her napkin on her lap, and waited to be served. "Please bring me my tray, Madeline."

"Yes Princess," Madeline replied, her smile growing wider as she watched the teen swiftly adapt to her new role despite the causal manners common in this realm. Despite her lowly station, even Madeline could see that what was driving the transformation in their new Princess was the will to live, and that the Queen of Hearts could shape that desire, and the fear of death that lay just underneath it, the way a master sculptor handled a chisel. Yes, with barely one meeting, her Queen had already begun a transformation in the girl and it was now Madeline's job to see that transformation continued as her queen directed.

As she finished her banana and was about to remove the lid from her yogurt, Danielle realized that she was wasting an opportunity to gain information about her grandmother. Chastising herself, she replaced her napkin on her lap, created a second cup across from her, and motioned for Madeline to attend her. "I've been so rude. Would you like some coffee, Madeline?"

Suddenly placed on the spot, Madeline stumbled on her tongue. "Your Grace, I'm not sure that would be appropriate."

"Nonsense, Madeline. You are my grandmother's assistant and I need counsel in how to win her favor and make her proud of me. It's not only appropriate, it's imperative," Danielle insisted, pouring a cup for the woman and making it clear that refusal would be taken as an insult.

"Second Assistant, Your Grace; my father precedes me," Madeline explained as she sat down stiffly across from Danielle.

"Your father… ah, the Knave of Hearts!" Danielle surmised, remembering her Alice in Wonderland and what little her mother had told her about how Cora ran her court. While her mother shared snippets of her unhappy childhood, it was only after reading the book that Danielle had been informed of who the Queen of Hearts truly was. Alice in Wonderland had been required reading in fifth grade and her mother had known that Danielle would forfeit a grade rather than read about the grandmother whose name already brought nightmares.

"Yes, although for the record, my father never stole anything from the Queen. She rewards those that please her quite nicely." Madeline extolled. Her family had been well cared for in exchange for their service, and she wanted the Queen's granddaughter to see the benefits she could share.

"So, how does one go about pleasing her? How do you and your father please her?" Danielle questioned, truly needing to know what was expected of her. As angry as Henry would be about the loss of his voice, she knew he wouldn't abandon her, which meant Snow and her clan wouldn't either. She just had to hold out long enough to be rescued and gather as much intelligence about her grandmother as she could.

"Well, my father and I are a bit of a special case. My great grandmother and the Queen were best friends as children. They wrote each other for years, even after they'd both married and become mothers, so because of our relation we have Her Majesty's favor," Madeline related, not really understanding why the Queen provided for them, but grateful she did.

Danielle nodded, not wanting to push too far on this first conversation. "And your mother and her family?"

Before Madeline could answer, the doors to the master bedroom swung open and Cora, dressed in the voluptuous fabrics of wonderland, entered purposefully. "That will be all, Madeline. I'd like some time alone with my granddaughter."

As commanded, Madeline bowed before the Queen of Hearts and Danielle, and swiftly scurried out of the room, leaving both to whatever fate was in store for them.

It took all Danielle's nerve to remain silent, but her self discipline held. She would let her adversary begin the conversation.

"You're quite skilled in the arts of negotiation and inquiry for someone so young. You constrain yourself well, and I'll admit I'm more than a little surprised. Regina never possessed these skills, nor her stable boy from what little I knew of him," Cora opened, knowing the girl must still have questions about her father. Growing up in the magicless part of this realm, she likely had nobody to confide in about her heritage and must thus boil with uncertainty.

"My mother learned much about politics and position after she became Queen, but beyond her instruction, she sent me to select schools which specialized in such training, in addition to the general education requirements for the state of Maine, of course," Danielle explained, hoping she was successfully simplifying how the education system worked here.

Cora smiled at Danielle's attention to detail, which she'd already learned was a requirement for getting along in this world. The natives here micromanaged every little detail and required proof and fact in nearly all spheres of life, and Cora knew that if she were to work towards expanding her kingdom within this realm, she would need to have advisors who could communicate in that fashion. Having a princess who could act as an ambassador between their worlds was a fortunate turn of events. "Well, regardless of how you've learned, I'm impressed. However, you do have some flaws that require attention. Despite your general manner, which is adequate considering your upbringing, you lack any awareness of rank or social order. I blame this world and your mother, of course, but from what I saw with Madeline, you're smart and open to learning. That gives me great hope."

Danielle recoiled from the praise, or more precisely, from the way it made her feel. Her mother praised her constantly, but mother's praise was unconditional. Cora was offering absolute power if Danielle could rise to the challenge, and as much as she feared the feeling, a rebellious part of her soul, the dangerous part that enticed her ancestor to murder a dark sorcerer five generations before her and had been passed down with his dark magic, loved it. She didn't want to slip, to fall for promises of power like her mother had under Rumplestiltskin's tutelage, but the promise sung in her blood and more than ever, Danielle prayed for a swift rescue. "Will you teach me, grandmother?"

Cora smiled, gently cupping her grandchild's face with her fingertips and examined the terror and ambition she was seeing there, before making her decision. "Of course I will, Darling."


	6. Chapter 6

Finding Who You Are: Part 6

By Arianwen P.F. Everett

Regina stewed as she leaned against the bumper of her Jaguar. She'd been standing here for nearly six hours, but she would remain rooted to this spot till she were dead if need be. Her daughter was being held by her mother, possibly the most evil soul she'd ever had the misfortune to meet, and her son, who stood but two meters away behind a magical barrier, was mute and would stay that way if they couldn't free his sister. At least she was able to see him, to be with him. His presence was a balm to her soul, had been since the moment Rumplestiltskin placed him into her arms for the first time. The strength of Henry's faith in happily-ever-afters for innocent girls like Danielle was the only thing protecting her sanity at the moment. She knew too well that they didn't always come, and in the Mills family, that loss usually precluded a decent into madness and murder. Regina pushed that thought from her brain and focused on Henry's eyes; she needed Henry's faith more than oxygen as each minute dragged on.

Finally, the signal went out and cheers rose up; the apples were coming. It had taken a magical conclave of gnomes, fairies, dark fairies, Rumplestiltskin, Regina, and various witches on both sides of the dark-light divide, but a plan had been formed. Charming's two most cunning knights would sneak into Storybrooke and steal eight apples, the greatest number they could carry without limiting their movements, from the tree that Regina had planted two days after Danielle's birth, her placenta buried with the sapling. Regina had never understood the origins of the tradition that had been passed down in her father's completely non-magical family, but according to one of the older fairies it had begun as a way to store magic before humans had the ability to merely bequeath it through their bloodline along with their genes. Now it would be used to return Nova's magic through the bond created between a fairy godmother and her charge. Once she had her magic back, Nova could use the fairy dust that had been saved in order to lift the banishment spell preventing Regina's return to Storybrooke.

If there was one unknown factor that plagued the citizens of Storybrooke above all others, it was what Regina would do once she crossed the border and her magic instantaneously flooded back to her. With no other magic users to stand in her way, save one fidgety fairy godmother, Regina's would be pretty much untouchable by those returning her power. However, it was well known that Regina valued her children above all else that gave her and the town a common enemy in Cora. Still, nearly everyone inched back nervously as the Evil Queen stepped over the border and threw her arms around her mute son. "Henry! Oh, I'm so glad to see you're in one piece at least!"

Noticing Henry's discomfort at the bear hug that was likely crushing him, Charming stepped towards Regina. "So, what's your plan?"

Regina pulled her jacket more tightly around her before speaking. "My mother doubtlessly knows I've returned, so there's no element of surprise. That just leaves burning everything between the edge of town and my home, sending Danielle and everyone else who was taken back here, regaining control over my curse, and finally ripping my mother limb from limb like I should have done ages ago."

Danielle tried to concentrate on the sheet music before her and not on the diamond tiara that was fastened so tightly to her head that the hairpins were digging into her scalp. Despite her mother's disappointment, she'd given up piano lessons when she was twelve. However, her grandmother felt that playing the piano was a must for a proper princess and unlike her daughter, Cora didn't compromise for her offspring's happiness. If there was one lesson about her grandmother that had been drummed into her, it was her refusal to accept anyone's wishes but her own, so Danielle played on and waited for her grandmother to tell her it was time to stop.

Then it happened, a gust of magic hit them both and Danielle couldn't play another note. Deep down she knew what she'd just felt. Mom had somehow made it into Storybrooke.

To her mother everything else was minutia if either she or Henry was in danger and Danielle couldn't help but cringe at what she knew her mother would be willing to do to reunite their family. Still, she wasn't her brother; she didn't believe in heroics at the cost of ones own happiness. Such heroics had saved the child Snow White and ensured Danielle would grow up without her father. She had protected her brother in the clearing because she loved him and his loss would have brought her unimaginable pain, not because it was 'good' or 'the right thing to do'. In that respect, she was more like the other Henry, her grandfather Henry, so while the thought of her mother's victims saddened her, if she and the people who she cared about made it out okay, she could live with a body count. She just hoped she'd be spared participating directly in her mother and grandmother's madness. Considering her failure with dark magic, she had little to offer in such a battle anyway.

However, Danielle soon learned she wouldn't get the chance to take sides as her grandmother called for her guard. "We will soon be under attack. Escort the Princess to the dungeon, but make sure you place her in a separate cell, as far from the criminals as possible. I will send Madeline to attend her; they are to be protected at all costs."

"Yes, My Queen," both guards answered in unison, before bowing and taking Danielle's forearms to carry out their orders.

"Thank you, Grandmother," Danielle called back as she left the room. Playing her grandmother's game would let Cora know that she was willing to play. Her heart wanted to cheer her mother's arrival, but to do such would antagonize her grandmother, so Danielle focused on not tripping as she was pretty much dragged to the dungeon. Thankfully, her height had lead her grandmother to put her in flat-soled slippers, so keeping up with the guards' strides wasn't as difficult as it would have been in heels. Still the overwhelming stench of the chamber pots nearly knocked her off her feet as she reached the bottom step of the long winding staircase that had replaced what she knew had once been her mother's laundry room. "Obviously my grandmother hasn't yet taken to indoor plumbing."

The familiar voice snapped Emma Swan out of a light sleep and she ran to the edge of her cage to peer down the long row of cells to the one at the end where a new prisoner was being kept. "Danielle, is that you?"

"Actually, now it's the Princess of Hearts, but I'll forgive your informality this once as the news probably hasn't reached this far down the food chain," Danielle replied cheekily. She liked the shock and slight fear that blossomed in their eyes, but pleasure aside, she knew Madeline would arrive in a few minutes and speaking freely wasn't an option at the moment.

"Well, she sold out quick. Surprise, surprise," Ruby sulked as she tried to get more comfortable on the cold metal bench in her cell. At least the chain around her neck was gone, that was until the day before the next full moon.

"Speaking of someone in the third person while they're in the room is extremely rude. I know Granny didn't raise you to be so crass, maybe it was just some_one_ you ate," Danielle fired back, raising her chin in defiance.

"Danielle!" Emma scolded, knowing how sensitive Ruby was about the lives the wolf inside her had ended.

Before she could take another breath, Emma found her face plastered against the floor, not in any pain, but instantaneously immobilized in a different position. "The proper way to address me is 'Your Grace'".

"Say it!" another voice demanded from the bottom step of the dungeon, before storming across the room to confront Emma.

"Madeline, I have this well in hand. Attend me," Danielle insisted, giving her servant a direct command that would take her far from Emma's cell.

She knew Emma probably thought as Ruby did, that she'd seen the material benefits of a princess and given into her grandmother's way of thinking. If material benefits had been her aim, Danielle would be moving into her private apartment near Harvard or Stanford or Oxford right about now. While they'd never been as exceedingly rich as most of Danielle's high school peers, her mother still held a net worth that exceeded 27 million dollars, all of which she'd gladly part with if could ensure peace and happiness for the whole of her children's' lives. Her mother's life story proved material wealth didn't provide either blessing, but neither did 'goodness'. Emma and Ruby had never had the options in life that could lead them to that lesson, so they thought ill of her choice to temporarily comply with her grandmother's wishes. She could permit them the luxury of thinking ill all they wanted, but when they voiced or acted on those sentiments, Danielle had to punish decisively. Otherwise, Cora would view her as weak and remove away any hope she had of finding a way to get them all out alive. Taking a deep breath, Danielle met the eyes of each of the captives on the other end of the room before turning her attention to Emma. "Miss Swan, I may have to share a dungeon with you for the time being, but as you can all see, I don't have to tolerate sass. Think before you address me in the future."

'Understood, Your Grace," Emma ground out. Unlike her cellmates, she could see straight through Danielle's ruse. She was still the gentle girl she'd always been, just doing what was needed to survive, and considering the girl was far closer to the seat of power than she, Emma decided to follow her lead.

Gazing across the dungeon, Danielle watched Emma intently. The arrogance had left her voice and had been replaced with understanding and a careful mastery of her words. Remembering Emma's background, Danielle deduced that her brother's birthmother saw their situation far more clearly and was allowing her leeway. She hoped that the blonde could keep her companions in line as well. Danielle really didn't want to have to hurt anyone if she could help it.

Suddenly feeling a wet cloth washing the dungeon grime from her hands, Danielle's attention fell back on her grandmother's second assistant. She'd not given Madeline herself much thought, mostly viewing her as a font of information about Cora. Now her mind began to consider Madeline's place in the Queen of Heart's life. She'd mentioned that Cora had been friends with her great grandmother, but Danielle had learned enough about her family history to know that every relationship Cora entered into was meant to serve her own ambition.

Cora had only married Danielle's grandfather, Henry, because he was the illegitimate son of a king, who had been left a massive estate by his doting father. At first she'd also carried a faint hope that one day her husband might lead a rebellion, usurp the throne from his legitimate, younger half-brother, and make her queen. She even went so far as to curse her brother-in-law's beloved wife with infertility to prepare the way for herself and her own child. Then that insufferable imp had made a deal with her husband's brother and a shepherd's son was named his heir. Stuck with a toddler she no longer had any use for, Cora pretty much checked out of her daughter's life for a decade until it became apparent her child favored her in beauty and a new plan to win a kingdom was hatched, a plan that would lead Danielle's mother to heartbreak and suffering.

But for all the misery she'd caused her own kin and kind, Cora had maintained a strong friendship with Madeline's great grandmother, then appointed her offspring to cushy positions that kept them close to her. This had to mean something, possibly an angle they could play against the Queen of Hearts. Danielle just had to figure out what.


End file.
